Blank for plain-back shovels



(No Model.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 2. H. M. MYERS.

BLANK FOR PLAIN BACK SHOVELS.

IN VENTOR.

WITNESSES N. PETERS, Photo-Lithographer, wnshm mn. D4 04 (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3. H. M. MYERS.

' BLANK FOR PLAIN BACK SHOVELS. No. 340,605. Patented Apr. 2'7, I886.

'INVENTOR. W

WITNESSES 911d.

UNiTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY M. MYERS, OF BEAVER FALLS, PENNSYLVANIA.

BLANK FOR PLAIN-BACK SHOVELS.

QQ/PECEFICATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 340,605, dated April 27, 1886.

Application filed February 10, 1885. Renewed October 92, 1885. Serial No. 180,636. No model.)

.To (tZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY M. MYERs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Beaver Falls, in the county of Beaver and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful improvements in a new article of manufacture, to wit, a Blank for Plain-Back Shovels; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use 'the same.

lllanulacturers of iron and open hearth steel are adapting their manufactories to the making of specialties for the manufacturers of articles made of iron and steel, particularly the blanks for various articles of manufacturefor example, blanks for chain-links, for sledges and hammers, for mattocks, picks, and blanks for shovels.

The great desideratu in is the production of the desired kind of blanks with unskilled labor and as cheap as possible.

My invention has for its object the manufacture of rolled blanks for plainback shovels with comparatively unskilled labor, diminished cost, and at the same time producing a superior article of blank for shovels.

My invention has also for its object the making of said blanks of such form that when viewedin cross-section of the blade and handle-straps the greatest thickness will be at the center and gradually diminishing in thickness toward the side edges of the blank, said increased thickness and diminution extending throughout the entire length of the shovelblade and handle-straps, whereby the uneven wear of the shovel, scoop, and spade is compensated for and an increased strength imparted to said blade and straps.

My invention consists in making a new article of man ul'acture-to wit, a blank for plainback shovels, as hereinafter described.

To enable others skilled in the art to make my new article of manufacture, I will proceed to describe its construction.

In the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, Figure 1 is a perspectivevicw of abar of iron or of open-hearth steel rolled to a predetermined thickness and width. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a blank for the making of a plain-back shovel. Fig. 3 represents the blank with a tangsplit and a cavity or socket formed in said blank for the purpose of receiving the lower end of the wooden handle. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of a pair of rolls for breaking down or partially rolling the blank represented in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the finishingrolls for finishing the partially-rolled blank as it comes from the rolls represented in Fig. l. Fig. 6 represents a top view or plan of the blank after itcomes from the finishing-rolls. Fig. 7 is a pespective view of the finishing-rolls, representing the manner of entering the blank between the rolls. Fig. 8 is a transverse section of the blank shown in Fig. 6. Fi 9 is a transverse section of the handle-straps of the blank shown in Fig. 6.

Reference being had to the accompanying drawings, A represents a bar of iron or steel rolled to apredetermined width and thickness for making a series of blanks for shovels. The width and thickness of the bar A must correspond to the blank for making a shovel of the size desired. The blank 13, represented in Fig. 2, is from the end 0 to the end 1) substantially the same in length as the width of the finished shovel constructed from said blank. The tang E must in all cases corre spond to the length and width desired for the handle straps. This tang E is divided, as shown in Fig. 3, with a suitable socket formed in the blank B, for the reception of the lower end of the wooden handle of the shovel, which dividing of the tank E and socket in blank B is accomplished by any suitable machine constructed for the purpose. A Iit-tle'cinder is thrown into the socket and between the divided parts of the tang E and the two parts closed together. The blank is then passed between the rolls represented in Fig. 4, the tang entering first between said rolls, as indicated in Fig. 7 The blank is partially rolled down by passing it several times between the rolls shown in Fig. 4, the tang always entering between the rolls first; otherwise the divided parts of the tang would inove from each other laterally, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 6. After the blank has passed a number of times between the rolls shown in Fig. 4, it is then passed between the rolls shown in Fig. 5, which may be called the finishing-rolls, through the medium of which the blank is reduced to the desired thickness for the blade and the handle-straps of the shovel.

The lower roll in each pair of rolls shown in Figs. 4 and 5 is provided with a curved recess corresponding to the thickness desired at the center of the blanklongitudinally, which curved recess gradually diminishes toward the ends of the roll, as shown in the said figures. 1f so desired, this curved recess may be made in both the lower and upper rolls, in which case the recess must be of less depth than when made in only one roll of the pair. The blank, after being sufficiently reduced in thickness in the finishing-rolls, may be subjected to the shearing or trimming process, which finishes it as an article of manufacture for the trade.

It will be observed from the foregoing description that the blank herein described is formed, first, by cutting it from the bar shown in Fig. 1, as indicated by the dotted lines in said figure, with the least possible waste of stock, and that the blank before being subjected to the rolling process is in length from the end 0 to the end D about equal to the width required for the finished shovel-blade.

Another novel feature connected with the making of the rolled blank herein described consists in applying the i'orce for the reduction of the blank (shown in Fig. 3) to the proper thickness in the longitudinal plane of the shovel-blade and handle-straps, whereby the fiber of the iron or the longitudinal axis of the particles of steel are kept parallel with in the polishing process a finer finish can be I obtained at less cost.

It will be readily observed that in the manufacture of the herein-described blanks there is comparativelylittle skilled labor required, and that the blank is produced with facility and at diminished cost.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim isr A new article of manufacture, a shovel, scoop, or spade blank reduced in. thickness lengthwise, and having an increased thickness at its center extending its entire length, and gradually diminishing in thickness from the center toward each side of the blank, sub stantially as herein described, and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY M. MYERS.

\Vitnesses:

JAMES J. JOHNSTON, \VM. V. S. DYRE. 

